Around the Campfire
by GottaSecretForYa
Summary: A bit of silliness inspired by the MH random pairing generator. Jay/Brian. Tim's been teaching Brian how to play the ukulele. One night during the film shooting, Brian gives them a little concert. Jay likes it more than he wants to admit. Rated PG for potential slashiness.


**Disclaimer**: Jay, Brian, Alex, and Tim and all that Marble Hornets jazz belongs to Troy Wagner, Joseph Delage, and Tim Sutton.

**Pairings**: Jay/Brian.

**A/N:** Written for a prompt brought to me by the MH random pairing generator.

**Warning:** Silliness and a really catchy song present.

**Feedback:** It makes me write more, you know.

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It was unusually cool for a summer night. Jay slipped on his sweatshirt before flopping onto one of the logs around the campfire Seth and Tim had made. Alex had wanted to wait until well after dusk before starting his shoot. They had already gathered the firewood and set up the camera and lighting, now they were waiting for the sky to go from deep blue to black.

He popped open a can of soda and and stared into the campfire for several long moments before he noticed someone else sitting on another log on the other side of the fire. Brian grinned at him when he glanced up. Jay smiled back. He hadn't known Brian all that well until filming had started. It had been through Alex that they met.

But from what Jay could tell, Brian was a laid-back kind of guy, the type who you could meet up with and have a beer any day of the week. Well, if Brian took a break from camping and rock climbing, anyway. From the sound of it, Alex had had some trouble scheduling around Brian's frequent outdoorsy trips. Jay had to admire him. He didn't think he would be able to stand being in the wilds so much, with so many spiders and centipedes and bees and poisonous plants. Jay was a man who liked at least ___some_civilization, or at least a wall that separated him from the creepy-crawlies.

Brian didn't seem to have any problem with it, at least, in fact, he looked right at home out here, with the silhouetted treeline behind him and the orange glow of the campfire illuminating his front. Brian reached down to a pile of stuff that had been set by the logs and picked up a black case.

"Hey, Tim brought his ukulele!" he said.

Jay frowned. "Why did he do that? I didn't think Alex brought his sound recording equipment with him."

"Ambience! It's about campfire ambience!" someone shouted at them from the direction of the cars. Jay recognized Tim's voice and broke out laughing. Brian chuckled and unlocked the case.

"Mind if I play with it?" he called back at Tim.

"Sure, go ahead!" Tim said. His voice sounded closer and he emerged from the darkness to take a seat besides Jay.

Jay peered around for Alex. "Do we have time for a song?"

Tim nodded. "Alex is talking with Seth about the lighting. He's been changing his mind again and again for the last ten minutes. It may take a while."

Brian carefully listed the tan ukulele out of the case and strummed a couple chords on it.

"I didn't know you knew how to play," Jay said.

Brian gave a toothy grin as he inspected the instrument. "Tim's been teaching me when we have time off."

Tim shrugged. "He's a fast learner. Hey, play that one song we arranged from TV."

"What song is that?" Jay asked.

"Just listen, you'll recognize it, I think," Tim said.

Despite the glow from the campfire, a blush could be seen creeping over Brian's cheeks. He must not be used to an audience outside of Tim. Jay tried his best not to sound judgmental or intimidating.

"Yeah, I'd like to hear it," he said.

Brian started playing a cartoony jig that Jay could swear he had heard _somewhere_, although he found it hard to think while watching Brian's hands slide all over the ukulele. He had never noticed just how strong and capable they looked. He supposed they would have to be, given the kind of sports Brian was into. Yet, they had no problem playing such a small instrument.

When Brian started to _sing_, Jay found himself focusing on how rich his voice was rather than the words. God, and he had only just learned how to perform with a ukulele? Tim was right; he was a fast learner! If Jay didn't know any better, he would have thought Brian had been doing this for years.

"If you stare any harder, the ukulele's gonna catch fire and that thing wasn't cheap," Tim whispered to him.

Jay blushed and looked away. "I wasn't staring."

They listened for a few more minutes. Brian's playing, along with the sounds of the chirping crickets and the hiss and crackle of the fire, was mesmerizing Jay.

"I can give you his phone number if you want," Tim whispered again.

Jay stared in shock at Tim, who grinned slyly. He pressed a slip of paper into Jay's hand. It had a series of numbers on it.

"Uh, thanks," he said.

"No problem," Tim said. "Though just to warn you, you're in for a lot of rock climbing. He likes to test his dates, you know."

Jay's blush deepened, but he didn't reply. Brian strummed out the last few chords of the song and looked up hopefully. Jay and Tim clapped, which made him grin.

"You know, that song works better in a round," he said.

Tim nudged Jay in the ribs. "Time to impress him," he muttered and then said, louder, "You know the words now, right?"

Jay nodded, his cheeks cooling slightly in the night air while he carefully folded the piece of paper with Brian's phone number and slid it into his pocket.

Brian started to play again and this time, his eyes met Jay's over the flames of the fire while they started to sing.

_"__Lets gather around the campfire__  
__And sing our campfire song__  
__Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song…"_


End file.
